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Study: Gender and College Recruiting

Teaser:

The article “Gender and College Recruiting,” which was first published in the April 2011 issue of the NACE Journal, reports that the average starting salary for a Class of 2010 new female college graduate with a bachelor’s degree was $36,451: 17 percent less than the $44,159 her male counterpart averaged. The article finds that the discrepancy cannot simply be explained as the result of males choosing majors that lead to higher-paying jobs because even when salary is adjusted by major, men come out ahead in most cases. Engineering is the notable exception.

Editorial:

From the press release:

Female new college graduates earn less than their male counterparts, according to a report issued by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

In “Gender and College Recruiting,” appearing in the April 2011 issue of the NACE Journal, Ed Koc, NACE director of research, reports that the average starting salary to a Class of 2010 new female college graduate at the bachelor’s degree level was $36,451—17 percent less than the $44,159 her male counterpart averaged.

Interestingly, being a rarity isn’t a guarantee of a higher salary. In fact, women earning degrees in computer science are also scarce—accounting for approximately 18 percent of the degrees conferred—but averaged $52,531, while men earned $56,227.

In addition, the data indicate a relationship between lower pay and fields that are predominantly female; even when they dominate a field, women tend to earn less than men holding the same degree. In education, for example, where they account for nearly 80 percent of graduates, women averaged $29,092, while men averaged $39,849.